The Privileged Life
“They begged us earnestly for the privilege
of participating in this ministry to the saints.”
2 Corinthians 8:4 (ISV)
Enabled by His Spirit, His Word gives us insights that touch the heart and essence of God’s love in the assemblies of Christ. There is a reason why the early church had such an impact in the first century of its birth. The common denominator of their power and unity was the Love of God revealed in their care for one another.
They counted it a “privilege” to share their substance and heart, at great cost to themselves, on behalf of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
“In spite of their terrible ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and deep poverty has led them to be abundantly generous. I can testify that by their own free will they have given to the utmost of their ability, yes, even beyond their ability.”
2 Corinthians 8:2-3 (ISV)
In the midst of their own suffering from persecution and poverty, they gave of themselves “abundantly” to His church and abounded in the “joy” of the Lord. There is a holy economy in His church that only the sacrificial Love of God can bring us to.
To live outside of this love will leave the soul untouched, unmoved and uninvolved in the koinōnia of His Spirit. Paul had one passion that characterized his life and ministration in God:
“…to make all men see
what is the fellowship of the mystery…”
Ephesians 3:9
There is a fellowship, a sharing, a ministration of the power of God that is tangible and heartfelt. It flows between those who are stepping into the mystery of Christ within. To live on the periphery of this wonder leaves the soul withered and uninvolved in the economy of God in Christ.
Casual relationships and religious associations leave the soul impoverished and numb to the fire and the immensity of the Love of God. All the strategies of men to make known the majesty of Christ fall short of the power and dynamic of His Love binding us into a holy unity in God.
“By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples,
If ye have love one to another.”
John 13:35
The Love of God is the only means by which we enter into the privileged life of serving one another by the Lordship of Him who sacrificed Himself on our behalf.
“They begged us earnestly for the privilege
of participating in this ministry to the saints.”
2 Corinthians 8:4 (ISV)
Can we hear and feel
the Call of God in Christ?
“that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in US, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
John 17:21 (ESV)
This is the prayer and heart of Jesus, and if we are His servants, we, in the power of a living faith, live to fulfill the desire of HIS HEART.
“Be sure that Christ is not behind you, but before, calling and drawing you on. This is the liberty, the beautiful liberty of Christ. Claim your glorious privilege in the name of a disciple; be no more a servant, when Christ will own you as a friend.”
— Horace Bushnell
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The Work of Jesus – Spiritual Vision
Brian Troxel
